Another Reality
by Xiin
Summary: [ExT] Tomoyo is lonely. Eriol went back to England and never came back. Tomoyo wishes on a star and gets sent to another world where she meets the long-lost Eriol and they take on an adventure. EDITED
1. Wish Upon the Brightest Star

This is the disclaimer to end all disclaimers. I do _not_ own Card Captor Sakura. If I did, I wouldn't be writing this is in the first place. Another Reality 

            "See you tomorrow, Tomoyo-chan!" Fifteen-year-old Sakura Kinomoto told her best friend before racing off to her house.

            "Take care!" Tomoyo replied, smiling after the vanishing figure of Sakura. Then she sighed.

            She just wasn't herself these days. Maybe it was because Sakura seemed to pay Syaoran more attention than she did Tomoyo. It hardly had anything to do with the rumors that she was in love with Sakura. She wasn't. In fact, all she was simply [and selfishly, she added] asking that Sakura would smile and laugh with her too. Just like old times.

            Tomoyo missed all those times when everything was so perfect. Back in the fifth grade, it was wonderful. But it had all changed somehow. Everyone went his or her separate ways.

            Meiling had gone back to Hong Kong, saying that she wanted to pursue further training but she suspected that it was because she still couldn't accept the fact that Syaoran and Sakura were together. Chiharu was happy with Takashi, being his girlfriend. Rika had Yoshiyuki and even Naoko found herself a partner to be happy with. And Eriol?

            Eriol went back to England to take care of some business. He hadn't called and didn't reply to their letters either. It was as if he died right after the Sakura Card business.

            _Why do I have to be the odd one out of the group?_ Tomoyo thought. She kicked a pebble and looked up at the sky.

            It was turning dark already and she knew she'd better hurry home before her mother noticed her absence. Her mother's words rang in her ears, "If you're not home by six, Tomoyo-chan, I'll send out the whole police force in Japan hunting for you!" She chuckled. That was when she lost track of time and returned at seven. Her mother was in hysterics by then.

She raised her head to the sky again and saw a star fall out of its place in the heavens. She supposed she had to make a wish now.

            _I wish I wouldn't be lonely anymore. I wish I had someone to be with._

            Tomoyo laughed at her silly antic. She looked at the sky and saw the stars share her mirth. _I wonder whether it would come true._

_            Of course it won't._

            But it did. And Tomoyo wasn't sure whether she liked her wish or not anymore, as her vision spun and she was sent into a world of darkness.

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A/N: Am I evil? Well, here's the edited version of Another Reality, prologue. Not much right? But I'm trying.


	2. I: Another Reality

Chapter 1:

            Tomoyo groaned as she regained consciousness. Her whole body ached from bruises and cuts and everything felt so painful, as if she were stuck in that position for days. Her eyes fluttered open and she tried to sit up but winced as a sharp pain seared through her body. Tomoyo closed her eyes and waited for the pain to subside, breathing heavily all the while.

            The pain gradually diminished and the past events came rushing back to her; a wish on a bright star. Tomoyo groaned again and opened her eyes. She was in a wasteland, empty, save for a few dead trees (which accounted for nothing, anyway), a small group of birds circling the land and some huge boulders in a far off distance. Where in the world – assuming that she was still on Earth – was she?

            _Definitely not in Tomoeda, _a voice at the back of her mind replied automatically.

            Tomoyo stood up, dusted her skirt and decided to look around some more. Behind her, about a good many meters away, stood a highly technological city… or so it seemed for there were tall unearthly white buildings with their summit high up in the air. There were, too, flying objects, which in Tomoyo's opinion, looked like planes of some kind.

            '_This, is not what I wished for,_' she thought rather dryly. Wish or no wish, her stomach began to realize how devoid of food it was. Still, granting that she was in another world, why _her_? Shouldn't it have been Sakura, Syaoran or Eriol?

            Brushing those thoughts aside, Tomoyo turned to face the city. Should she go, or not? If she went, she had no idea of what kind of dangers she would face, or whether the inhabitants would view her worthy of being their dinner –

            She decided to go anyway. Taking a deep breath, she walked towards the metropolis.

            A high wall surrounded the city but that was all. No guards were placed at the entrance and there seemed to be no sign of it being booby-trapped. No sense of protection at all. Or maybe these people left it to the birds. She shuddered. The birds, up close, looked a lot like vultures with a murderous air and steely, blood-craving eyes.

            Without another thought, she hurriedly entered the city.

            Tomoyo was held in awe at the first sight of what lay in the city. The city was buzzing with noise and radiant activity, which reminded Tomoyo very much of Tokyo. But there were no humans. Instead, creatures of myths and fairytales ran about, speaking and dressing up like humans.

            Oddly enough, there were beings up in the sky that looked like humans, only that they had magnificent, pearly white wings. They flew around, sometimes retreating to huge floating crystals, which probably were their homes and occasionally went down to play with the centaurs. At this point, Tomoyo realized that this wasn't a highly technological city by any means.

            She shook her head and decided to look for some help. Tomoyo tore her gaze away from the winged beings and walked around. Nobody seemed to acknowledge her presence in the city, except when she bumped into a sophisticated-looking elf and was showered with a dozen curses.

            It wasn't long before Tomoyo's patience ran out. Whenever she tried to ask a creature for help, it would look at her and walk away or completely brush past her. Soon, Tomoyo could be found sitting helplessly on a bench, tired and out of breath. She looked weakly at the sky. The sun was setting. It would be night soon.

            All day, she had been pushed, shoved and completely ignored. She was getting hungrier by the minute and had no money to buy food. Her head began to spin terribly. Could this day get any worse?

            She stood up again and determinedly looked for help. She chanced upon a centaur. It looked kind enough. Maybe it would give her help…

            "Excuse me, sir," Tomoyo began.

            "What is it, girl?" the centaur spat out irritated.

            … or maybe not.

            "Be quick human. You're wasting my time."

            She took a deep breath to calm herself down. It was hard not to spat out curses at everyone here. Oh, if only she wasn't so hungry, she bet she could pull out a string of rainbow-colored curses that could make the devil cry.

            "Do you have any money to spare? I'm hungry and –"

            "I need all the money I can get my hands on. Scram girl!"

            With that, he glared at Tomoyo and shooed her away.

            Tomoyo sighed and kicked a pebble. It was dark now and the streets were beginning to feel hollow and empty. The creatures had all returned to their homes and she was left alone with her thoughts. Maybe she was too buried deep inside her thoughts that she didn't notice someone in front of her and bumped into him.

            She winced as the hard ground came in contact with her behind.

            "Oh, I'm sorry!" A hand found hers and pulled her up.

            _I must be dreaming. _Tomoyo thought as she brushed the dust off her skirt. She mumbled a soft 'thank you' and was about to move away before anything else happened when,

            "You're not from around here, are you?"

            She looked at the boy, surprised. "N – no."

            He had dark blue eyes and matching blue hair. His eyes twinkled with wisdom and amusement that looked so familiar behind thick glasses. She knew him! She just couldn't figure out who.

            It hit her suddenly. Eriol—Eriol Hiiragizawa. What was he doing here?

            "Hi – Hiiragizawa-kun?"

            Eriol was just as surprised as she was. "Daidouji-san? Is that you? What are you doing here?"

            "I should be the one asking you that,"

            He shook his head and said, "Come, Daidouji-san. I feel that we have lots to talk about."

            "Before anything else… where are we?" Tomoyo asked, all hunger replaced with curiosity. Who would have known that Eriol would be here?

            "We are in the city of Eden, in the years before Adam and Eve were created. This is the other reality, the world which is about to become truth. Welcome to a new age, a new world and a new adventure, Tomoyo Daidouji."

* * * * * * * 

Refe: Muahahahahaha. All comments are welcome except flames. If this sucks, you're very welcome to say it and point out what upset you. I'll try to improve it.


	3. II: Hunt

Chapter 2: **Hunted**

"Can you explain it to me again, Hiiragizawa-kun?" Maybe this slowness of the brain was a direct result of falling out of the sky. But whatever it was, it made Tomoyo sigh exasperatedly and rub her temple.

Eriol had been trying to tell her all about this 'another reality' for the past few minutes after he had prepared breakfast for the both of them. Presently, they were in his house, which was situated high up in the sky. Tomoyo had failed to understand what was going on – except that in all those long years of Eriol's disappearance, he was right here. Clow obviously had some hidden oddities that the dark-haired mage had not taken care to pay attention to and was sent here by accident, or so it seemed anyway.

He sighed. This was the fourth time he was going to explain the whole thing to her and he certainly wasn't looking forward to explaining everything. "I trust that you've got a grasp on the basic facts?"

She took a small sip from the foreign drink Eriol offered her before replying. It had a delicious honeyed flavor, with a slightly corrosive taste that made her think of the sodas back in Japan. Japan. She realized with a pang, that she missed Japan and everyone else there. "Yes, yes, of course," she said almost absentmindedly, forgetting that she was supposed to listen carefully.

Eriol gave her a curious look and waited. As if awakened by the silence, Tomoyo focused on the dark-haired boy in front of her. "As you know, this world, Eden, is the equivalent of ours. Eden is the direct result of our imaginations, fantasies and dreams. At the start, it was caught in between, in between reality and fantasy and it could not get out, unless our imagination grew stronger. It did. As our fantasies began to grow, it left the world of fantasy and became real. Now, it may not seem to be a threat but as it developed, the balances of these two worlds were disrupted. This world was too full of fantasy and our world was full of both fantasy and reality. It was not balanced.

"Earth and Eden cannot co-exist because of this lack of balance. One has to be eradicated or changed to create a stable environment in each world. If not, both worlds would fade from existence. And so, a silent battle began. Each world sent a pair of strong individuals to try and destroy the other.

"And we, Daidouji-san, are the ones sent now to destroy Eden."

Tomoyo coughed to cover up a disbelieving snort. "Me? How can it be me? What about Sakura—Syaoran, even?"

"Ah," Eriol's eyes twinkled with faint amusement. "the Fates have strange ways of choosing people."

"But I haven't even got magic powers!" Tomoyo protested.

"You say that as if you're really sure you don't have any powers, Daidouji-san,"

"Of course I don't!"

"Now, now," he smiled his infuriatingly calm smile. "put into mind that magic is very unpredictable. It could choose to show up when you're an inch from death or not at all. We all possess magic. The thing is, most people don't believe in magic or they don't try to find the magic that's within them."

"Y—you mean I might have some magic?"

Eriol did not reply. Instead, he stood up and reached out to the wall, which instantly morphed into a window. Tomoyo, surprised, leaned in to see what Eriol was looking at.

The inhabitants of Eden were going about their usual business yet those sapphire-blue orbs were hurriedly scanning the city for something. She followed his gaze but found nothing wrong. She gave the boy beside her a questioning glance.

"They're coming, Daidouji-san. We must hurry. They might not have touched me for years but now that you have come, they are going to exterminate us. If they kill us, it will ensure their triumph against Earth."

Then she saw them. A group of white-robed creatures made their way into the crowd, heading for the glowing area that was supposed to teleport them to Eriol's quarters. Eriol saw this and grabbed Tomoyo's wrist and led her to an adjoining room, empty except for a large mirror leaning on the wall. They could hear soft footsteps now. 

He touched the cold surface of the mirror and it immediately turned into a misty substance. 

"Come," he held her hand then disappeared into the mist. Reluctantly, Tomoyo stepped into the haze and she, too, disappeared.

* * *

A/N: Hookay! That's the second chapter edited! Blahness, it's still short. Anyone up to beta-ing? ^^ Just email me.


	4. III: Chase

Chapter 3: **Chased**

            Tomoyo gasped for air as Eriol pulled her into a dark cave. They had been running for more than an hour already, chased by what Eriol described as the Sirens. They weren't the sirens you hear from myths and legends. They were half-human and half-angel creatures with the capacity of the devil. 

            Eriol told her that they were the deadliest weapons that Eden could send out to destroy. And he was right for these creatures had tracked them down though they walked noiselessly through a forest of silence, they had found them when they hid in the darkest places and most of all, they were professionally trained to know their enemy inside and out.

            Eriol had refused to fight, reasoning out that he needed to observe them before he would do anything because his attacks might prove useless. However, the Sirens showed no flaw, may it be in their speed, power, intelligence or anything they did. 

            The purple-eyed girl panted heavily as she placed a hand over her heart. The boy next to her was hardly affected with the entire running they did. It was as if he had not run at all. 

            "Hiiragizawa-kun, how in the world can you still maintain being calm even until now?" Tomoyo asked in wonder as she settled down across him, still gasping for breath. Her usually neat hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail and the clothes she was wearing at the moment were soiled. (A/N: I forgot to mention that she changed clothes. Eriol must have had expected her for he had lots of girl clothes. ^-^)

            "There is no time for this, Daidouji-san. The Sirens are still chasing us and they will not stop until they have either killed us or their master, Lucifer, stops them." Eriol said in a tired voice.

            "Lucifer?" Tomoyo echoed. "Isn't he the angel who abandoned God and thus became the devil?"

            "Yes," he replied. "Though I suspect there is more to him than we can ever imagine. He has allied himself with Eden whereas God is with Earth. Still, I cannot decipher his true motives for pledging alliance with Eden." 

"May it be that he is bent on destroying God? Or is it something else, something deeper?" He directed this question to no one.

            Tomoyo sighed. Eriol could be so confusing at times. She looked at the boy across her. She had always thought that Eriol was the boy with no worries, no problems in life. She thought that being the reincarnation of Clow Reed meant that he was the most powerful being in the world and no one could ever surpass him.

            But she was wrong, she finally admitted as she stared at the dark-haired boy. _If you just look through his power, his being the reincarnation of Clow Reed, you could see a boy. Just an ordinary boy, with worries and problems. _

            She stood up and patted Eriol on the back and gave him a bright smile despite the sudden urge to slap him on the back for making her run a thousand miles. He looked up and gave her a small but grateful smile.  

            "Hiiragizawa-kun, what's wrong? You seem so troubled," she inquired as she sat down beside him.

            "Nandemonai. I just miss Sakura-san and the others." He said with a sigh.

            "Liar, I know there's more to it rather than that,"

            He shook his head in amusement. "It seems like I can't keep my worries all to myself anymore, with you around."

            A long silence followed as they both listened for sounds of oncoming Sirens and their own contemplations. After a while there was a dull thud as a strong gale of wind passed them. Immediately, they stood up and faced the entrance of the cave. 

            Winged beings stood at the mouth of the cavern, carrying swords, bows and arrows, dressed in silk robes and had light, silver hair with dark sapphire blue eyes. They looked ethereal, angelic but their persona was demonic. They were the Sirens.

            Eriol narrowed his eyes. He knew that they should have never entered this cave but he ignored the nagging voice at the back of his head, telling him to go on running. And now, he faced the consequence. Now, they had no choice but to fight their way out.

            He glanced worriedly at Tomoyo who was still exhausted and hastily called on his Clow staff and prepared himself for the fight. On the other side, the Sirens readied their weapons and slowly advanced on them. 

(A/N: Err… I just have something to say. During the episodes when Eriol was testing Sakura and stuff; I was currently in Hong Kong, unable to watch ANYTHING! I hated it! ::bangs head on the table:: Anyway, I think Eriol just waves his staff and magic comes out. Is that it? Please correct me if I'm wrong.)

            Eriol waved his staff and immediately, the ground shook violently. Moments later, four human-shaped, rocky figures emerged from the earth. The Sirens stopped to scrutinize their enemy, looking at them with piercing, deep sapphire eyes. Eriol looked troubled as the Sirens finally attacked.

            There was no flaw in their movements or in their assault. They moved in a system, as if they could read each other's minds. There was no escape now. Their silver-haired enemy had provided them with no exit. They had blocked every passageway. Eriol, for the first time, looked helpless.

            Tomoyo glanced at him worriedly but barely managed to evade a rocky creature (that Eriol had created), which was sent flying in her direction. The chain reaction was almost immediate. The cave walls shook fiercely and began to collapse, crushing some of the Sirens though some managed to escape.

            Her eyes widened with fear as the falling chunks of rock blocked the mouth of the cave, trapping them. Eriol looked at the wall of stone calmly as if everything went as planned and turned his staff back into a key.

            "Hiiragizawa-kun, I still cannot believe how you can act so calmly even though we're trapped in this place," Tomoyo said, trying to keep the anger rising from her tone. _Shouldn't he try to get us out of here, not just stand there and look as if his world has crumbled into nothingness?_

Eriol looked meaningfully at her and said, "Surely, Daidouji-san, you must know that I will never do a reckless thing like trapping us in here without any exit." He smiled and pointed to a small, dark hole at the far end of the cave, hardly visible but as he pointed it out, Tomoyo saw it.

            "Let's follow it to wherever it will lead us to. Hopefully, the outcome will be good,"

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China: ^-^ Thanks to ALL the people who reviewed this story!!!!!!!!! I love you all!!! I haven't given you guys a proper thank you ever since Chapter 1.

Thanks to:

~richelle~ Thanks for reviewing! You made me so happy!!! ^-^ Here's the chapter you wanted.

~Orange blossom~ Gomen that it wasn't as soon as you wanted it but nevertheless, it's here. The E+T part will come out in the next chapters, only hints though. (What can you expect, they weren't that close, were they?)

~Julie~ Yeah, the sole purpose of that short chapter was only that, I think. I guess I was too tired to do anymore. Well, here's what I think, a longer chapter. If you want a longer one, the longer, you'll have to wait. ^-^

~Tomoyo-chan~ You're impressed? I'm flattered. Thank you. Anyway, I don't write that well. My friend who's at least a half a year younger than me, gets all the "This story's so cool!" in our group while I get, "It's okay!" Just joking, actually, we all get, "It's okay!" from each other. 

Yeah, I know the last chapter was short. So, here's the longer one. At least I didn't end it in an evil cliffhanger. Believe me, it was supposed to end with Eriol getting crushed by the rocks and Tomoyo releases…. something. ^-^ I don't know what happened to it.

~sariastar~ I know it's complicated. My mind's in a complete jumble on how this is going to end, but as the story will go on, maybe I'll get an idea. Thanks!

~Yingfa~ Holli-chan!!!! ^-^ You are so mean that you didn't inform me of your story!!!!!!!! ::mumbles incoherent words:: You are sooooooo mean!!! Anyway, it was a great story with lotsa potential. 

~bishounen lovah~ Thank you very much!!! You're one of my favorite authors!!! Though I haven't posted you on my faves section, I will soon. Your Amethyst Eyes is so cool! Yeah, everyone's been saying how short my story is… I'll try to make it longer. I just don't have time with all the assignments and tests! . 

My teacher would kill me. This includes the devil and his battle with God and some things which are the direct results of being too thoughtful/reflective. 

P.S. You're a Filipina, aren't you? (Wonder why all my fave authors are Filipina…)

::runs away to do another chapter of another story::


	5. IV: Perfection

Refe-chan : Okay, okay, okay… the story's short. I don't know how to make it longer, but here's what I think is a longer chapter. ^__^;

Disclaimer : I do not own CCS. Hail Clamp. They made it.

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Chapter 4:  **Perfection**

"So the other human has been sent. How nice…" A smooth, cold voice of a man remarked sarcastically in the darkness as a ball of blue fire died down in his palm, bearing the image of a young girl and boy resting in the forest.

            "We shall see whether they are fit to survive this world." The voice continued. Moments later, there was a sound of buzzing as if hundreds of thousands of insects were being released. "We shall see…"

---- * ----

"_How _did you know that there was a hole at the back of the cave, hmm, Hiiragizawa-kun?" inquired Tomoyo as she walked down a narrow passageway filled with an unusual kind of light. It was dazzling, though for some reason, you could still see clearly.

"Elementary, my dear Tomoyo," Eriol replied with a knowing smile. The latter flushed. She was well aware that Eriol had called her by her first name. As hard as she tried to fight it off, the blush would not go away.

"Very funny, Hiiragizawa-kun. How did you _really _find out?" 

"Observation, Daidouji-san, simply observation," Tomoyo's heart sank, though she did not know why. 

They came to an end of the bright passageway and entered a clearing of trees. It was already nighttime as they walked out. The violet-haired girl covered her mouth as she yawned loudly. Eriol looked at her and smiled.

"I think this day has been too much for you. Let's sleep, shall we?" He said and conjured up two sleeping bags and a blazing fire with his staff. 

"Yes, I think we should," Tomoyo yawned loudly again and sank into the gray sleeping bag and into dreamland.

The blue-haired mage propped himself against a sturdy tree and began to keep watch. He was not taking any chances with the Sirens. Even though the cave-in blocked the Sirens' way of getting here, there was no proof that the cave was their only passageway to the place he and Tomoyo were staying in now, wherever it was.

He stared at the girl across him sleeping peacefully. Why had she been sent? He could not sense any magical aura or a core of strong magic inside of her, waiting to be released. He would have preferred Sakura-san to be his partner in dealing with these kinds of things but the thought of Syaoran's foot making contact with his jaw made him not think about the subject any longer. He shrugged. Maybe all this had a purpose that would reveal itself in due time.

            Tomoyo woke up the next day, feeling pain all over her body. Her limbs and joints when stretched had a bruised feeling that she withdrew them right away. It was uncanny. She was athletic, having participated in a number of sports during the past years. So, why would this happen? Tomoyo groaned.

            Eriol, who had been trying to get a few minutes of decent sleep against the tree (to no avail), heard her and turned his head to see what was the matter. "Are you all right, Daidouji-san?"

            "No, unfortunately not." Tomoyo told him dryly.

            Eriol walked up to her and bent down as he gently inspected her current condition. "We'll have to get you to a doctor. The problem is, I don't know whether there is a city somewhere nearby."

            "I see," said Tomoyo, nodding as if she understood but actually, she didn't. This was a simple muscle pain and could be healed by a massage, so why did Eriol have to get her to a doctor? There was something afoot here.

            The young mage hurriedly turned around and acted as if everything was fine. He then went to get some food, maybe fish for there was a nearby river. As soon as he got out of Tomoyo's range of sight, he began to slow down.

            There was really something wrong. The muscle pain Tomoyo was experiencing had a magical connection. It wasn't normal. At all. She was an athletic person as far as his knowledge of Tomoyo went. This journey of theirs was getting to be very dangerous. Lucifer was just sending out the teaser. Soon, it will be the real thing. And when that time comes, they will be running for their lives, unable to escape His wrath.

            Eriol blinked as the sound of splashing water reached his ears. He was at the flowing river where dozens of fishes were swimming away in the sunshine. Now was the time that he realized that he actually didn't know how to fish. Nevertheless, there was always a way.

            A big fish happened to catch his gaze and in a blink of an eye, it was in the air, struggling for breath. A minute later it died and Eriol held it in his hands. He surely did not approve of seeing creatures die, but at least, they had breakfast. (Magic is really handy.)

            Tomoyo gave a small but satisfied burp, which she quickly covered up, embarrassed. She had to admit that the fish was extremely good. She didn't know how Eriol did these kinds of things but whenever he was around, everything was to be expected to be all right and miraculous. 

            He stood up and beckoned her to come to him. "We have to go now and get to the nearest city."

            Tomoyo stared at him in an odd manner before complying. '_So, he is serious about getting me to a doctor. How peculiar._' 

            They set off into the forest in silence. Eriol was contemplating with himself whether he should tell Tomoyo or not. If he did, there was a small chance that Tomoyo might believe him but then, there was also a chance that she might not. There was also another, tiny chance that she might think he was a lunatic for thinking of such a thing. I mean, since when has muscle pain have anything magically connected to it?

            They entered a small town later that day, after an hour of walking through vines, tripping over large tree roots, getting small scratches from thorns and so on. Tomoyo wouldn't even try to think of it. She was dead tired and her body was still painful. Eriol was too.

            It was a happy town, filled with humans now, instead of those creatures they found at the previous city. Tomoyo and Eriol entered an inn, which was recommended by many of the cheerful townsfolk. They said it overlooked the lake that shone beautifully in the moonlight and they were lucky today. It was a full moon.

            "I really don't care much for those kind of things," Eriol stated once they got away from a smiling, elderly couple. "All I need is rest."

            Tomoyo smiled at him. "Aww… C'mon Hiiragizawa-kun! It can't be that bad and besides, they did say that it was the best one in town."

            "It *is* the only inn in this town."

            "Then, you have no choice."

            "I know," He smiled warmly back at her.

            "Let's go then. My body is aching for a nice, warm bath."

            Eriol sighed and they went inside the inn. A plump woman greeted them with a gasp as she saw them in their condition, ragged with torn clothes. Yet again.  

            "This… is the life," The violet-eyed girl announced. She had just emerged from the bathroom, wearing a white night dress and looking sleepy. Eriol, who was staring at the lake turned to smile at her and wish her good night.

            "Oyasumi, Hiiragizawa-kun," she stifled a large yawn and settled comfortably into bed. 

            "Ii yume wo, Daidouji-san," And he went back to staring intently at the lake. Tomorrow, he would probably tell her about the mysterious muscle pain. He crossed his arms and shifted his gaze onto Tomoyo, sleeping peacefully like an angel. Maybe, having Tomoyo as a partner was not so bad at all. She was a nice girl.

            Tomoyo smiled as she went to sleep but there was something bugging her about this town. How everyone was so cheerful, how this inn seemed so perfect, how everyone seemed to have no problems at all… It was all so weird. It was not possible.

            Everything seemed so, so…

            _Perfect._

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Refe-chan : Was that long enough for you? Pwease tell me! ::sigh:: Anyway, I'm happy I got rid of my writer's block and actually got around to finishing this chapter. ^_____^

Thank you so much for all those who reviewed! You don't know how much you made me happy!


	6. V: Attack

Disclaimer: I do not own Card Captor Sakura. Hail the beautiful ladies of CLAMP. ::bows and bwaps those who aren't bowing:: So, don't sue me.

For Elizte. You made me happy with your comments about this fic of mine. But I'm still disappointed with what you did to Kai'nee-san. She trusted you. I trusted you. But you betrayed our trust. I'll still be on good terms with you but like what meemee-san and Ate Les said, I will not trust you.

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Chapter 5:

                Eriol crossed his arms and gazed outside. He was sitting in the terrace, which opened out to a clearing of trees and gave him a full view of the magnificent lake, shining, in its full splendor. 

                The lake really did look beautiful, perfect if there was such a thing as perfection. In fact, everything in this little town seemed perfect. It was strange in a way that scared him. It scared him that such a thing as perfection existed. He didn't believe in it, so to speak.

                In both his two lives, now and then, he never even encountered something close to this. Surely, he saw great happiness in people but they would soon crumble away or return back to being normal, with troubles in life.

                Of course, this world was not exactly what you would call true. It was a figment of Man's imagination that turned real. Tens of thousands of fantasies combined to form one. This was Eden, the place called paradise. And in a way, this was paradise for it contained everything that Man ever dreamed of.

                Eriol sighed, stood up and sat on the bed next to Tomoyo's. He felt soft cloth used to cover the mattress. Silky and smooth. He thought, _Even this is perfect. _Everything here was perfect, down to the last detail. He wanted to stay here forever, wanted to stay as to not be haunted by problems and enjoy his life fully.

                But what then? What is life without problems? Without trials in life? They make your life fuller. They make you learn. Who cares if your life was not perfect? Having these things makes life even more perfect. Having a life like these people was… artificial. It was not real, only a fantasy. It would never be real.

                He gave the lake outside one final gaze before drifting off to sleep.                 

Tomoyo opened her eyes to the sound of birds chirping happily under the morning sun. The pain was gone, astonishingly. She could now move her limbs without feeling pain. She about to tell Eriol the she didn't have to go to the doctor anymore, only to find him still sleeping under the covers.

She giggled slightly at Eriol who looked so boyishly cute with his dark hair in a mess. His azure blue eyes opened sleepily to give the amethyst-eyed girl a half-glare for waking him up. He closed them and turned the other way to sleep again.

                Eriol sank back to his blissful sleep, drowning himself in the soft mattress. It was such a long time he actually got some decent sleep after the incident with the Sirens. "Five more minutes, if you don't mind, Daidouji-san."

                Tomoyo shrugged and went off to the bathroom to bathe and change. Approximately five minutes later, she emerged wearing a white shirt and a light blue skirt, something that was laid out for her by the mistress of the inn. She went over to Eriol and cheerfully pulled down the covers. "Five minutes is up, Hiiragizawa-kun!"

                The boy groaned, wiped the sleep out of his eyes and slowly sat up on the bed, disgruntled but he still managed to greet Tomoyo a good morning politely as ever. He stifled a yawn and sleepily went to the bathroom. 

Coming out of the bathroom about ten minutes later due to the fact that he spent the other five sitting while sleeping on the toilet, he wore a dark blue robe with many ornate designs and with a large sun and moon blended into it. Obviously, Tomoyo thought, he had changed the clothes that the mistress had given him into something more to his taste.

Everything had gone well that morning. They left the inn without as much as a coin as payment to the mistress. She was just happy to see them looking well and healthy once more. Tomoyo had told Eriol that the muscle pain was gone but all he did was frown. All that was forgotten by the time afternoon came.  Let's just say, it was eventful.

"Come back with that, you utterly underhanded thief!" The violet-haired girl angrily shouted after a running brown-haired figure that had stolen her necklace, which Eriol had bought her when they took a leisurely stroll along the stores.

"Calm down, Daidouji-san," Eriol told her. They were now out of all the villager's prying eyes. He performed a spell that sent the brown-haired boy sprawling on the brown earth. Following that spell, Eriol hung the boy in mid-air to prevent him from escaping.

Tomoyo blinked twice at the magic the mage had displayed before running over to the thief who was now praying a dozen Hail Mary's with chattering teeth. When he saw them approach him, he hurriedly dropped the necklace to the ground and begged them not to harm him any further.

"Seeing that you returned my companion's necklace without much of a complaint, I guess not," The blue-haired boy returned him to the ground with a wave of his hand. 

The amethyst-eyed girl returned her necklace back into place. It was a simple necklace with a single sapphire, smooth and carved into a flower. She didn't know what was so interesting about it. It merely drew her.

"Say," said the boy while peering at them closely. "You're not from around here, are you?"

"What is it to you, if we're not?" Eriol spat out. He evidently had not a good impression of this boy. 

"Hey, hey, no need to be angry at me," The boy uneasily waved his hands in surrender. "My name is Zachary, by the way. I'm nothing more than an ordinary boy –"

"Thief, you mean,"

"You're still sore about that?" Zachary inquired but recoiled once he received two death glares from both Eriol and Tomoyo. 

"O-kay. I think I get the message, so I better be hurrying along now…" He gave them an awkward smile and ran off.

Eriol sighed. "Daijoubu desu ka, Daidouji-san?"

"Daijoubu." Tomoyo answered cheerfully.

The pair stared up at the sky. It was sun set already. It looked like they had to spend another night in the little village again. Tomoyo had used too much time in the stores, looking at their lovely trinkets. 

"I guess we'll be spending another night in the inn again," 

"I guess…" the raven-haired girl moved her gaze from the setting sun to Eriol. "Why are you looking at me that way?"

"You spent too much time in the shops. By now, we could have reached another city or town,"

"Well, excuse me!" Tomoyo said in mock-anger. Seconds later, she giggled a bit and they headed back to town. 

A loud crack of electricity made them halt in their tracks and turn around to see what it was. A small, black vortex was opening above them, crackling with fierce power. The fleeting gale got stronger and circled them; their hair flying in the wind, whipping themselves against the pale faces of Tomoyo and Eriol. 

                The dark-haired girl backed away but Eriol remained in his place, studying the vortex closely. From the black depths of the eddy, an amber-eyed boy jumped out, smirking. Hundreds of golden, mechanical bugs followed him and the vortex closed.

                Eriol hurriedly called out his staff. 

                "Your staff won't be of any use, human," the boy told him in a cold, calculating voice. "And neither will your magic."

                The mage ignored him and sent the boy sprawling towards the ground with a wave of his staff. He stood up with no difficulty, as if nothing had happened. He smirked.

                "See? You should have listened, mage. Now, your turn is over. It's my turn now." And he commanded his insects to attack.

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A/N: Hopefully, you don't think of that as a cliffhanger. I am really, really in a bad mood today. So, tell me how you found it. ^-^ Just click the box below and review. Maybe I'll make the next chapter longer. ::shrug:: Up to you.


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